Tuesday, May 24, 2016

All-Century Women's Track & Field team announced on 'Pac-12 Sports Report'

 

SAN FRANCISCO (May 24, 2016) – The 51-member Pac-12 All-Century Women’s Track & Field team was announced Monday night during Pac-12 Networks’ flagship show, ‘Pac-12 Sports Report.’
This team was voted on by a panel of 35 consisting of coaches, former athletes, administrators and members of the media. The top two vote getters in each of the 19 events automatically qualified for the squad. The remaining 12 spots, including ties, were selected from a wildcard ballot consisting of the third, fourth and fifth place vote getters in each event. Athletes with two events next to their name finished in the top two in each of those events.
Out of 220 nominees, UCLA leads all Pac-12 schools with 17 team selections, followed by Oregon (7), Stanford (7), Arizona (5), USC (5), Arizona State (4), California (2), Colorado (2), Oregon Sate (1), and Washington (1). Thirty-eight of the 51 members are Olympians, with 136 NCAA individual titles won (both indoor and outdoor). Additionally, five of the members on the Women’s Track & Field All-Century team are also members of the Pac-12 Women’s Cross Country All-Century team.
Bob Kersee took home the Pac-12 Women’s Track & Field Coach of the Century honors, with UCLA’s Jackie Joyner-Kersee earning the Pac-12 Women’s Track & Field Athlete of the Century title.
Kersee was a member of the UCLA women’s track & field staff for 32 years, including from 1994-2013 (19 years) in a volunteer capacity, working with the hurdlers and heptathletes. He first came to UCLA in 1980 after leading Cal State Northridge to consecutive Div. I national championships in 1978 and 1979. He served as assistant coach to Scott Chisam at UCLA from 1980-83, during which time he guided sprinters Florence Griffith, LaShon Nedd, Sherri Howard, Arlise Emerson and Jeanette Bolden to NCAA honors. Kersee completed his ninth season (1985-93) as head coach at UCLA in 1993 by winning the Pacific-10 title and placing third at the NCAA Outdoor. Five of his last seven teams won the conference crown. In addition, eight of his last nine Bruin squads recorded Top-7 NCAA finishes, including a runner-up result in three of the last six campaigns and a third-place finish in 1993. He is one of the premier sprints and hurdles coaches in the world and has guided numerous athletes to Olympic, World, U.S. and NCAA titles. At the 2012 Olympics in London, Kersee coached Allyson Felix to three Gold Medals, in the 200m (21.88), 4X100m relay (40.82 world record) and 4X400m relay (3:16.88), as Felix became the first U. S. women's track & field athlete to win three Gold Medals since UCLA great Florence Griffith Joyner at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Also in London, UCLA alumna Dawn Harper won a Silver Medal in the 100m hurdles (12.37, personal best) and Jeneba Tarmoh ran on the U. S. women's 4 X 100m relay in qualifying and won a Gold Medal. In 2008, Kersee coached Harper to a Gold Medal at the Beijing Games in the 100m hurdles. He also coached Felix to a Silver Medal in the 200m and Gold in the 4x400m, and Shawn Crawford to Silver in the men's 200m and Kerron Clement to a Silver in the men's 400m hurdles. He also helped coach the U.S. 4x400m relay team to Gold.
Throughout her collegiate career at UCLA, Jackie Joyner-Kersee was the most dominant American athlete in both the heptathlon and long jump events. She was the NCAA heptathlon champion in 1982 with a point total of 6099 and in 1983 with a total of 6365. In the long jump competition, she placed second in 1982 and third in 1983. She also was a member of the 1600-meter and 400-meter relay teams and competed in the 100-meter hurdles event. Overall, she was the most prominent member of the UCLA track and field team, leading her school to the NCAA Championships team title in both 1982 and 1983.  To this day, Joyner-Kersee remains the UCLA school record-holder in both the heptathlon and the long jump. She also retains UCLA's second highest mark in the high jump competition and third highest time in both the 100- and 400-meter hurdle events. In addition to her achievements in track and field, Joyner-Kersee was a four-year starter on the UCLA women's basketball team, playing from 1980-83 and 1984-85. She played a total of 121 games, scoring an impressive 1,167 points and grabbing 752 total rebounds. She is still listed among the UCLA Bruins' best in career scoring and rebounding.  Joyner-Kersee went on to win six Olympic medals following her college career. After winning the Silver Medal in the heptathlon in 1984, she took the Gold in the event in 1988, setting a world record point total of 7,215 that still stands. She repeated as Gold Medal winner in the heptathlon event both in 1992 and 1994 as well. She also won the Bronze in the long jump competition both in 1992 and 1996.  Joyner-Kersee won the Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete in 1987. She has also received many other renowned titles including being named Sports Illustrated for Women's Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century (2001), Track & Field News' Athlete of the Year (1986, 1987,1994) and the Associated Press' Summer Olympian of the Century (1999).
See below for the entire team:
PAC-12 WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD ALL-CENTURY TEAM
100m, 200m Evelyn Ashford – UCLA, 1976-79
100m-Angela Williams – USC, 1999-02
200m-Florence Griffith-Joyner – UCLA, 1981-83
200m-Jenna Prandini – Oregon, 2012-15
200m-Inger Miller – USC, 1991-94
400m-Monique Henderson – UCLA, 2002-05
400m-Maicel Malone – Arizona State, 1988-1992
400m-Phyllis Francis – Oregon, 2011-14
800m-Alysia Johnson Montano – California, 2005-08
800m-Laura Roesler – Oregon, 2011-14
800m-Claudette Groenendaal – Oregon, 1982-85
1,500m-Shelby Houlihan – Arizona State, 2010-2014
1,500m-Francie Larrieu Smith – UCLA, 1974
1,500m-Regina Jacobs – Stanford, 1982-85.
1,500m-Leann Warren – Oregon, 1980-85
5,000m-Lauren Fleshman – Stanford, 2000-03
5,000m-PattiSue Plumer – Stanford, 1981-84
10,000m-Alicia Craig – Stanford, 2002-05
10,000m-Amy Skieresz – Arizona, 1996-99
100h-Gail Devers – UCLA, 1985-88
100h-Virginia Powell – USC, 2003-06
100h-Joanna Hayes – UCLA, 1996-99
100h-Dawn Harper-Nelson – UCLA, 2003-06
100h-Lynda Tolbert-Goode – Arizona State, 1987-1990
400h-Sheena Johnson – UCLA, 2001-04
400h-Janeene Vickers-McKinney – UCLA, 1988-91
Steeplechase-Emma Coburn – Colorado, 2008-2013
Steeplechase-Shalaya Kipp – Colorado, 2009-14
Pole Vault-Chelsea Johnson – UCLA, 2003-06
Pole Vault-Tracy O’Hara – UCLA, 1999-02
High Jump-Amy Acuff – UCLA, 1994-97
High Jump-Brigetta Barrett – Arizona, 2011-13
High Jump-Joni Huntley – Oregon State, 1975-78
High Jump-Tanya Hughes – Arizona, 1990-93
Long Jump-Jackie Edwards – Stanford, 1989-92
Long Jump-Brianna Glenn – Arizona, 2000-02
Triple Jump, Long Jump-Sheila Hudson – California, 1986-90
Triple Jump-Erica McLain – Stanford, 2005-08
Discus, Shot Put-Seilala Sua – UCLA, 1997-00
Discus-Suzy Powell Roos – UCLA, 1995-98
Discus-Lillian Copeland – USC, 1925-28
Discus-Aretha Hill Thurmond – Washington, 1995-98
Shot Put-Jillian Camarena – Stanford, 2001-04
Shot Put-Meg Ritchie – Arizona, 1980-83
Hammer Throw-Eva Orban – USC, 2006-09
Hammer Throw-Jessica Cosby Toruga – UCLA, 2002-05
Javelin-Kate Schmidt – UCLA, 1972-75
Javelin-Rachel Yurkovich – Oregon, 2006-09
Heptathlon, Long Jump-Jackie Joyner-Kersee – UCLA, 1980-83
Heptathlon-Brianne Theisen-Eaton – Oregon, 2008-12
Heptathlon-Jacquelyn Johnson – Arizona State, 2004-2008

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